Men's College Basketball
Preview
Tennessee at Oklahoma
When: 12:00 PM ET, Saturday, February 8, 2025
Where: Lloyd Noble Center, Norman, Oklahoma

Another Top 25 game awaits Oklahoma as No. 4 Tennessee travels to Norman, Okla., for a Southeastern Conference matinee Saturday.

Tennessee (19-4, 6-4 SEC) grinded out an 85-81 home victory over No. 15 Missouri on Wednesday. The Volunteers scored 57 points in the second half to rally from a 34-28 halftime deficit.

Oklahoma (16-6, 3-6) lost at No. 1 Auburn 98-70 on Tuesday. The Sooners are in a five-game stretch against ranked teams before facing five more during their final six games of the regular season.

Jalon Moore leads the Sooners in scoring at 17.9 points per game and Jeremiah Fears adds 15.9.

Against Auburn, it was Dayton Forsythe who led Oklahoma with 13 points. The freshman is a local product from Dale, Okla., and was the No. 1 prospect in the state according to 247Sports. He connected on 11-of-11 free throws against the top-ranked Tigers and has scored in double figures in two straight games.

Oklahoma struggled inside Tuesday. The Sooners were outscored 46-20 in the paint and saw 15 turnovers turn into 22 Auburn points.

"Not much went right," Oklahoma coach Porter Moser said. "I thought we were fighting. We were fighting the first 20 minutes even though it didn't look good, we were doing some things and it was within reach. But it snowballed on us and they can do that with the physicality and size they have. If you want to beat the best, you have a small margin of error. And we had way too large of a margin for sure."

With their big second half against Missouri, the Volunteers won their second game in a row. Zakai Zeigler and Igor Milicic Jr. each scored 21 points for Tennessee.

Chaz Lanier leads Tennessee in scoring this season with 17.5 points per game.

Zeigler averages 12.7 points and is on the midseason watch list for the Bob Cousy Award, presented to the top point guard in the nation.

"He handles the ball and makes some really good decisions," Vols coach Rick Barnes said. "He didn't settle for a 3 when he could have. ‘Z' is at his best when there's a baseline or middle drive and he gets spotted up. That's when he shoots it the best."

Tennessee is deep with 10 players who average double-digit minutes, led by Zeigler at 34.4 per game. Barnes tries to use his depth to create offensive mismatches in the Volunteers' offensive sets.

In the first half against Missouri, for example, Barnes wanted more cuts. Too often, he said, the Volunteers made one cut and settled for the first shot available. During the second half, when it scored 57 points, Tennessee hunted out mismatches with their screen game and back cuts.

"We get guys in positions where they have to switch," Barnes said. "We hope to take advantage of those switching situations and create matchups out of that."

These schools have only met once before on the hardwood, with Tennessee posting a 55-49 win on Dec. 13, 1968.

--Field Level Media

Stats and Records
Team Comparison
  W/L Strk Home Away Neutral Day Night Conf
Tennessee 19-4 W2 13-1 3-3 3-0 7-1 12-3 6-4
Oklahoma 16-6 L1 10-2 1-4 5-0 5-0 11-6 3-6
Last Meeting
Tennessee Oklahoma
Date Away Home Pts Reb FG% Pts Reb FG%
No previous meeting.
Player Stats
Previous Matchup
Points Player Total FG% FTM
Tennessee N/A
Oklahoma N/A
Rebounds Player Total Off Def
Tennessee N/A
Oklahoma N/A
Assists Player  
Tennessee N/A
Oklahoma N/A
Season
Points Player Total FG% FTM
Tennessee C. Lanier 403 41.2 44
Oklahoma J. Moore 394 53.0 101
Rebounds Player Total Off Def
Tennessee I. Milicic Jr. 180 51 129
Oklahoma J. Moore 126 31 95
Assists Player  
Tennessee Z. Zeigler 164
Oklahoma J. Fears 92
Quickchart Matchup
blue bar Tennessee Off vs  red bar Oklahoma Defense
blue bar 75.0 Points For
red bar 71.7 Points Against
blue bar 44.6 FG%
red bar 43.2 FG%
blue bar 35.2 Reb
red bar 30.3 Reb
red bar Oklahoma Off vs  blue bar Tennessee Defense
red bar 79.7 Points For
blue bar 59.6 Points Against
red bar 48.3 FG%
blue bar 36.4 FG%
red bar 29.4 Reb
blue bar 27.3 Reb